The Google Lens app now makes it incredibly easy to copy and paste text, including handwritten notes, and transfer the text from the phone to the computer. Here’s how the feature works, and how to transfer those handwritten notes from one device to the other.

Although Google Lens is primarily an image app, it has slowly been evolving over time and is constantly getting smarter. For example, Google Lens was launched during the company's 2017 I/O event and only one year later (and at the same event), Google announced it was gaining the ability to copy and paste text from images. This was a major development for Google Lens as it allowed users to take an image, highlight the text and then paste it elsewhere, like in another app.

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While that was 2018, the ability for Google Lens to copy and paste took an equally massive leap forward recently when the company announced the option to copy to a computer. Essentially, Google Lens users no longer even need to paste to a separate app, or to an email before sending. Instead, they can now just copy the text on their phone, just like before, although this time have it immediately available to paste it in a document on their computer. Here’s how to do it.

How To Copy & Paste From Phone To Computer

Making use of the new copy and paste feature is surprisingly easy. In fact, the process is not really any different to copying and pasting in general. Once text has been highlighted using Google Lens, and the user hits the Lens feature, the usual option of “copy text” will show up. However, in addition to that option, there's also now also a “copy to computer” button in the app. Once selected, Google Lens will point to a device that it expects you want to copy the text to. For example, your home computer. By tapping on the suggested device, the text will be copied and becomes immediately ready for pasting on the other device.

As the feature determines devices based on the linked Google account, it will only suggest computers to copy to that are currently signed in with that same account. Therefore, if the computer you want to copy to is not listed, the chances are you are not currently signed in to your Google account on that device. This also means that you cannot really copy now with the hope of pasting later when you are at your computer again. The user does need to be logged into the same Google account on both devices, and at the same time, for the new Google Lens copy and paste (to computer) feature to work.

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Source: Google